A Christian making up with Crass
Some weeks ago I bought a copy of Penny Rimbaud's Autobiography "Shibboleth, my revolting life".
Reading about the life of this man, his thoughts on anarchism, pacifism, communal living and even his take on religion have provided me with a depth of understanding that I previously missed out on. I still cringe when I hear "Reality Asylum"--that probably won't change--but I am coming to understand the place where Rimbaud pulled that song from and what it took for him to get there.
And as I sit here listening to "Christ The Album", I think I may be starting to understand how their atheism was an important part of their message: rejecting Christianity for being another cog in the established order; opposing it's use by power as an instrument of oppression, ignorance, patriarchy and fear; and it's use as another weapon in the arsenal of the Cold War, pointed at the heads of the world and wielded like a sword over the ever mounting dead.
I can see this even while at the same time I can draw from the progressive traditions of my faith, the saints and witnesses who from my readings and my life experiences continuously put the lie to authoritarian Christianity. The lives and writings of people like Saint Francis of Assisi, John Dear, Leo Tolstoy, Hildegard of Bingen, Dorothy Day, John of the Cross, Ammon Hennacy Jaques Ellul, the Berrigans, and J. Barrett Lee; all of whom continue inform and encourage my Anarchism and fuel the process of my personal revolution. I guess that where we differ theologically has it's origins more in understanding and interpretation than it does in praxis; perhaps also in what is apparent versus what sometimes seems only to be implied or overlooked.
Unfortunatly it's much easier to see the false gospel of capitalism and the lie of imperial christendom at work in the world and to hear the preachings of those who would preffer theocracy to freedom, wars to peace, and persecutions to forgiveness. It is much easier to point to this mess than it is to remember Christ, the son of an unwed mother who turned water into wine, chased the moneylenders from the temple, and who counted amongst his friends and disciples prostitutes, guerrilla fighters, tax collectors and all those rejected by Roman society and by "respectible" Judaism as thieves, traitors and malcontents, the one who was put to death on false charges of sedition and blasphemy.
Despite this difference of views there are many ways that I can think of where Crass is right fucking on. And for all that they've done, not merely as musicians or as being at the forefront of the truly Anarchist punk movement, but also for their tireless work as activists, and agitators; I can only feel profoundly glad that those angry ex-hippies from a commune somewhere near Essex decided to get together and break a shit load of strings.
As a Christian who counts himself a part of the same struggle for Anarchy and Peace I wonder how much there is in the example of this collective that I could learn from, indeed how much many Christians might be able to take from what Crass had to say and what they did with it. Especially on topics like disarmament, pacifism, feminism, economic justice, and the violence of both the left and the right.
Anyway, if you aren't completely turned off and want a really good read that will help you understand both it's author and the collective he was a part of, or if you want to hear a really well made album of thought provoking and original punk music interspersed with really brilliant audio-collage I reccomend both "Shibboleth" by Penny Rimbaud, published by AK Press; and "Christ The Album" by Crass, from Crass Records.
If you can, try and order them from their websites that way you are giving your money directly to the people who make this stuff available. Why go through a retailor if you can go to the artists and publishers?
http://www.akpress.org/
http://www.southern.com/southern/band/CRASS/
Reading about the life of this man, his thoughts on anarchism, pacifism, communal living and even his take on religion have provided me with a depth of understanding that I previously missed out on. I still cringe when I hear "Reality Asylum"--that probably won't change--but I am coming to understand the place where Rimbaud pulled that song from and what it took for him to get there.
And as I sit here listening to "Christ The Album", I think I may be starting to understand how their atheism was an important part of their message: rejecting Christianity for being another cog in the established order; opposing it's use by power as an instrument of oppression, ignorance, patriarchy and fear; and it's use as another weapon in the arsenal of the Cold War, pointed at the heads of the world and wielded like a sword over the ever mounting dead.
I can see this even while at the same time I can draw from the progressive traditions of my faith, the saints and witnesses who from my readings and my life experiences continuously put the lie to authoritarian Christianity. The lives and writings of people like Saint Francis of Assisi, John Dear, Leo Tolstoy, Hildegard of Bingen, Dorothy Day, John of the Cross, Ammon Hennacy Jaques Ellul, the Berrigans, and J. Barrett Lee; all of whom continue inform and encourage my Anarchism and fuel the process of my personal revolution. I guess that where we differ theologically has it's origins more in understanding and interpretation than it does in praxis; perhaps also in what is apparent versus what sometimes seems only to be implied or overlooked.
Unfortunatly it's much easier to see the false gospel of capitalism and the lie of imperial christendom at work in the world and to hear the preachings of those who would preffer theocracy to freedom, wars to peace, and persecutions to forgiveness. It is much easier to point to this mess than it is to remember Christ, the son of an unwed mother who turned water into wine, chased the moneylenders from the temple, and who counted amongst his friends and disciples prostitutes, guerrilla fighters, tax collectors and all those rejected by Roman society and by "respectible" Judaism as thieves, traitors and malcontents, the one who was put to death on false charges of sedition and blasphemy.
Despite this difference of views there are many ways that I can think of where Crass is right fucking on. And for all that they've done, not merely as musicians or as being at the forefront of the truly Anarchist punk movement, but also for their tireless work as activists, and agitators; I can only feel profoundly glad that those angry ex-hippies from a commune somewhere near Essex decided to get together and break a shit load of strings.
+ + +
As a Christian who counts himself a part of the same struggle for Anarchy and Peace I wonder how much there is in the example of this collective that I could learn from, indeed how much many Christians might be able to take from what Crass had to say and what they did with it. Especially on topics like disarmament, pacifism, feminism, economic justice, and the violence of both the left and the right.
Anyway, if you aren't completely turned off and want a really good read that will help you understand both it's author and the collective he was a part of, or if you want to hear a really well made album of thought provoking and original punk music interspersed with really brilliant audio-collage I reccomend both "Shibboleth" by Penny Rimbaud, published by AK Press; and "Christ The Album" by Crass, from Crass Records.
If you can, try and order them from their websites that way you are giving your money directly to the people who make this stuff available. Why go through a retailor if you can go to the artists and publishers?
http://www.akpress.org/
http://www.southern.com/southern/band/CRASS/
posted by Chris Rooney | 11:49 PM
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